At The Heart of Winter
by armedassassin
Summary: When a 13 year-old witch joins Hogwarts, little does Harry Potter knows that she brings along something unprecedented from his fateful past. But he is too busy trying to discover what a fellow Gryffindor has to do with the mass murderer Sirius Black, and worse, a prankster Slytherin joins the Weasley twins. Harry Potter has a lot more to discover than just how to defeat Voldemort.
1. Chapter 1

**At The Heart of Winter**

 _At the heart of winter,_

 _on a cold, wet night of thunder_

 _is an eye awakened at dawn_

 _thus blink the cluds on and on_

 _so turn the screws of time_

 _with green a blinding light_

 _the icy chill seeps in, and_

 _chaotic bursts throw apart,_

 _the simpering throbs of innocent hearts._

 _Dreams together rope in,_

 _a twisted tale of shards_

 _broken that were once,_

 _together they love as one._

 _At the heart of winter,_

 _on a cold, wet night_

 _of thunder_

Chapter 1

 **Jacqueline James**

" _The one with the power to vanquish the Dark Lord approaches... born to those who have thrice defied him, born as the seventh month dies... and the Dark Lord will mark him as his equal, but he will have power the Dark Lord knows not... and either must die at the hand of the other for neither can live while the other survives... the one with the power to vanquish the Djark Lord will be born as the seventh month dies..._ "

It was a cold, wet night. Tiny drops of rain trickled down the window of the room above the bar in the Hog's Head Inn. Misty words drowned away under the sound of the pattering rain, and wind wheezed across the foggy window, covering the glass in a haze. A lone raindrop slithered down the window over the fog, and the soft words echoing from the room slowly begun to die away. An eavesdropper outside the room was being thrown out of the Inn. He had heard but enough; enough to tell the Dark Lord what was coming.

 _October 31, 1981_

 _Dordogne, France_

" _Lily, take Harry and go! It's him! Go! Run! I'll hold him off!"_

" _Not Harry, please, no, take me, kill me instead—"_

" _This is my last warning.h"_

" _Not Harry! Please…have mercy…have mercy…Not Harry! Not Harry! Please…I'll do anything…"_

A flash of blinding green light, and a searing pain in the head had the baby screaming at the top of her voice, awakening her parents who had been sound asleep for the last three hours. Louis and Celia exchanged an exasperated yet amused look as they made to leave the bed. Louis gestured to Celia to stay in bed, and with a grateful, groggy smile, she yawned and fell back onto the pillows. Louis quietly followed the sound of his daughter's wails and ventured into the nursery next to his and Celia's bedroom, and spotting little Jacqueline squirming in her crib as she cried, he quickly scooped her up in his arms. As he rocked her back and forth while muttering sweet nothings in her ear, Jacqueline's breathing slowed down and as did her screams, while Louis tried not to think about why the night seemed so unusually gloomy.

 _July 31, 1993_

 _Dordogne, France_

Jacqueline Pierce hated that searing pain in her head every time she awoke from that nightmare. It was always the same, the throbbing on her forehead, as though something sharp was cutting through her skin. The nightmare remained the same as well: always that baby crying in the crib, a woman shielding it, and a blinding flash of green light. She hated this nightmare, and she hated how much her skin felt scorched every time she saw it. Today was no different. She had awoken with a gasp and that pain in her forehead, and as she shook her head to be fully awake and forget that nightmare, she spotted the two gift-wrapped boxes at the foot of her four-poster bed.

And suddenly the nightmare vanished from her mind and a smile enveloped her features as she quickly hopped off the bed and grabbed one of the boxes. When Jacqueline finished unwrapping the box, she nearly squealed in joy spotting her new Quidditch robes. She had missed that thrill of flying for weeks now, since the Muggle-world did not quite appreciate one flying around on a broomstick outside of their houses. And frankly, Jacqueline didn't think her haughty French neighbours would enjoy her broomstick crashing into one of their neatly-grown dandelions while she looked for the golden snitch. Her dad usually took her to a field far away from town where Muggles were rarely found lurking, and to keep them safe, he'd secure the area through some repellent spells that would keep the nosier ones away while Jacqueline practised her flying skills in peace.

She hoped she could wear her new robes today and dad would take her to the field again. Her seeker skills needed some polishing. Perhaps she could learn from a trained seeker, but Jacqueline hardly knew anybody in the nondescript French town she lived in with her parents. Jacqueline's parents, Louis and Celia Pierce had moved to France twelve years ago, shortly a year after Jacqueline was born. After You-know-who begun his search for power, it became almost impossible to escape, but Louis and Celia managed it with the help of some of their friends back in London, and it was all Jacqueline knew about the terror of someone known as the Dark Lord among his followers.

France had been welcoming of them, and even though Jacqueline was well-prepared to join Beaubaxtons for her wizarding education, Celia preferred to home-school her daughter. Despite Jacqueline expressing that she would love to join a school of witchcraft and wizardry, Celia had already decide she wouldn't send her child to a wizarding school and would be the teacher herself along with her husband Louis.

Jacqueline couldn't do much else, since her protests were shut down almost as soon as they begun, but she loved her parents enough to know that they would do what's best for her. And since Louis and Celia were such good teachers, she didn't mind being home-schooled, although she'd have very much liked to make some friends. She did know a muggle or two, but that was about it, for they lived in too small a town, and it was hardly occupied by anyone that Jacqueline would find remotely interesting.

Jacqueline snapped out of her thoughts about Quidditch when there was a knock on her bedroom door, and Celia's entered, followed by Louis.

"Happy birthday, darling!" Louis exclaimed as he pulled his daughter into a tight hug. Jacqueline grinned and hugged him back as best she could, given his burly build.

"Thanks, dad," she said, pulling away only to have Celia place a soft kiss on her forehead and wish her a happy birthday as well.

"Do you like your presents?" Celia asked, settling beside her husband and daughter on the carpeted floor.

"I haven't opened the other one, but I love the new Quidditch robes!" Jacqueline answered with a grin.

"Well, open the next one, then," said Louis, nudging the neatly wrapped package close to her.

Jacqueline unwrapped the package to find an old copy of A History of Magic, with a few notes scribbled here and there right on the cover. She smiled, realizing that her parents knew of her love of collecting copies of old books from wherever she could find. It was a strange liking she had towards tattered books and she would spend hours arranging her mini-library every week. Now she had another book to add to her collection.

"Thank you!" she grinned at her mother. "This is perfect."

"Shall we get some food in your tummy then?" asked Celia as she got up, indicating that Jacqueline should be down in the kitchen when she was done freshening up.

Jacqueline gave an enthusiastic nod as she admired her presents, and her parents left the room in time to let her get showered and dressed. The moment she returned from breakfast, Jacqueline immediately grabbed the book her mother had given to her a mere hour ago, and proceeded to go to her mini-library in the next room so she could stack away the book amidst all the others. As she looked for an empty space to put it in, she flipped through the pages absent-mindedly, only to have something fall out of it and onto the wooden floor of the library.

Jacqueline bent and picked up what looked like an old, moving photograph of a family of four. She squinted as she looked at the smiling faces of the man and woman, who were holding a girl and a boy respectively. The man was tickling his daughter, who appeared to be giggling in mirth, while the woman was watching her husband and daughter happily along with her son, who was pulling on her hair as he grinned. Jacqueline allowed herself a smile, for the family looked a happy one, but something seemed far too familiar in the photograph.

Did the girl child look like Jacqueline when she was a baby, or was she just imagining it? Did all babies with brown hair and brown eyes look alike? Frowning, Jacqueline placed the book on the table that stood in the middle of the room with a chair behind it, and stared closely at the photograph. Her feet led her towards the drawer that she kept her photo album in, which had pictures of her childhood in it.

She held the photograph in one hand as though she was afraid it was going to disappear were she to place it anywhere, and pulled out the photo album with another. Placing it on the table, she took the chair and went through the album, searching for a match. To her surprise, each photograph of hers seemed to match the one that she had found in the book, and her confusion only deepened.

Jacqueline had never seen that family, but she thought perhaps they were friends of her parents back in Britain, and were babysitting her that day when the photograph was taken. Although it did seem a bit odd to include someone else's child in a family photograph. Since it hardly seemed plausible for Louis and Celia to have another child whose traces were wiped out years ago and their faces remarkably turned into people Jacqueline had never met, she concluded that there was something she needed to know.

"Dad?" she called out without taking her eyes off of the photographs. When there was no answer from Louis, she called out again.

Louis suddenly appeared in the library, and Jacqueline looked up from the photo album up to her father.

"Who are they?" she asked, lifting up the photograph of the family she had found in the book so Louis could see.

Colour seemed to have drained out of his face as Louis looked at the photograph his daughter was holding.

"Dad?" Jacqueline probed when he didn't appear to be moving or attempting to speak.

Louis snapped out of a daze and took a seat on the floor beside Jacqueline's chair.

"This is James and Lily Potter," he began, as though he was about to tell her a very interesting story. "We were friends back in Britain."

But something seemed to hit him, and he stopped, lifting his head to look at Jacqueline. "I think your mother needs to be here for this," he said.

Before he could go and fetch his wife, Celia appeared at the door and raised a brow.

"Stuck in the library again, you two?" she smirked as she strode in, wiping her flour-covered hands on her apron. Noticing her husband's pained face, she frowned and walked in closer.

"Is something wrong?" she asked.

"She found the photograph," said Louis. "We've been looking for it since ages. It never occurred to us to look into this book where we'd forgotten we hid it."

"Is someone going to tell me why I am in this photograph with some people called James and Lily Potter?" Jacqueline asked, impatient to know what was going on.

Celia sunk into herself as she let out a breath, staring at the photograph for a while, and then at Louis.

"You're in the photograph because you're their daughter," said Celia.

If someone had asked Jacqueline to relive her recurring nightmare once again, she'd happily do it, for those words coming from her mother seemed to have caused a pain far worse.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

 **Mira Burke**

 _July 25_ _th_ _, 1991_

 _Diagon Alley_

Mira Burke could hardly stop staring at the barred owl sitting inside Eeylops Owl Emporium. Her grey eyes seemed to have found something absolutely marvellous about that owl, and she could not stop looking. If only she didn't already have an owl of her own, she'd have persuaded her uncle Remus to buy her a new one. But alas, uncle Remus had already bought her an owl of her choice the previous day, so there wasn't much she could do to get a new one.

"Mira," uncle Remus called, and Mira had to tear her eyes away from the owl emporium. "It's time to go now," he said with a stern finality on his otherwise serene face.

Mira was aware that uncle Remus already knew of her fascination towards owls, and she didn't think he was unaware about her blatantly ogling at one right now. It had taken her forever to pick one the previous day when they had come to buy her a pet she could take to Hogwarts with her.

"Can I just have five more minutes to go into the owl emporium once?" she asked, hoping that the fake innocence on her face would make Remus change his mind.

However, he was not convinced, and Mira didn't need to be answered for what she had asked, to know that it was time to leave. Remus was the only family she had, and he was, as she had concluded, the best she could ever ask for. She did not know a thing about her parents or any other immediate family apart from the fact that her mother and father died in the first wizarding war, and left her with her father's cousin, Remus Lupin. Mira had been schooled in the primary magic by Remus, and he had prepared her well for joining Hogwarts in September. Mira admired her uncle for being such a good teacher, particularly good in Defence spells, which she had only read about in the books that they had gotten for her first year at Hogwarts.

Mira had asked Remus a number of times about her mother and father, but he hadn't given out much information, and she only knew that their names were Mary and Orion Burke. There were no photographs of her parents that she could see, for as Remus had told her a few years ago, their home was destroyed during the war, and no memory remained of them. Mira didn't know what her parents even looked like, aside from knowing that she had inherited her father's grey eyes and black hair, and her mother's light skin. According to Remus, Mira looked more like her father, who had been quite the charming man in his time. Although she didn't know a lot about her parents, Mira was quite fond of them already, and proud knowing that they had fought bravely in the war.

As she and Remus began to make their way out of Diagon Alley, Mira wondered whether she'd prove to be as smart and quick at Hogwarts as both her parents had been. Even if she wasn't, at least she knew she wouldn't be completely clueless given the fact that she had read the books and gotten enough training from Remus to help her out in case she was put to a test. Mira couldn't wait to start her year at Hogwarts, and if her swiftly beating heart was any indication, she was more nervous than excited to know what house she was going to be sorted into.

 _September 1, 1991_

 _King's Cross Station_

When Mira and Remus emerged onto platform 9/3 quarters, they were greeted by a swarm of people scrambling to get onto the train, with the parents on the platform being extra cautious for their 11 year-olds who were going for the first time.

"Don't forget your owl!" a tall witch called out to her blonde-haired son dragging his trunk onto the train.

"Don't you dare not write back every week!" another mother announced to her daughter, who rolled her eyes and kissed her mum goodbye before hopping onto the train.

"Alright, now are you ready?" said uncle Remus, and Mira had to tear her eyes away from the family of redheads, one of which included set of twins teasing the younger redheaded boy, whose mother was busy trying to get to all of her sons at once. She did know that those were the Weasleys, having met them once or twice since Remus knew them. She didn't know them that well, though, but was thoroughly aware that the twins, whose names she couldn't recall, were famous for their indiscipline at Hogwarts. Mira made it a point to not fraternise with them.

"I am," said Mira, heart thudding loudly in her chest, but she was thankful no one could hear it given the amount of noise on the platform.

"Okay, listen to me," said Remus, kneeling before Mira as she turned to look at him, nervous out of her mind for being alone in a school where she didn't know anybody. Although Remus's serene face did manage to calm her down a bit. "There is no need to be frightened," he continued. "Hogwarts is the safest place for wizards and witches, and you will make great friends there. Concentrate on your classes and make sure you don't end up in any sort of trouble, which I'm sure you won't, but just in case. And most importantly, do not worry if you get sorted into any House other than the one you want to be sorted into. It does not change who you are, rather it'll introduce you to yourself in a much better way. Every House has its own unique traces, and being sorted into any one of them should be a matter of pride for you. Understand?"

Mira took a deep breath and gave a nod, keeping her resolve intact even though she knew her heart was about to burst out of her chest due to all the nerves. She hadn't thought she'd be this nervous, but being alone somewhere without uncle Remus was a daunting feeling in itself.

"I understand," she said breathlessly. "Will you write to me often?"

"Of course I will," he smiled. "Don't worry about being alone, okay? If you're lucky like I was, you'll end up making the greatest of friends."

Mira nodded again, too wound up to say anything else. Remus took the hint and stood up, before taking her hand and leading her towards the train.

"Be safe, and I'm sure you'll get into your preferred House," he said as he helped her pull her trunk into the compartment.

"I'll miss you, uncle Remus," she said, tears welling in her eyes as she fought to control them.

"I'll miss you more," he answered, before leaning forward and placing a soft kiss onto her forehead.

Mira climbed onto the train as a black-haired boy with askew glasses swept past her and disappeared into a car. She waved goodbye to Remus as the horn sounded indicating that the train was about to leave. And she stood there, waving her hand as the train slowly began to move, until she couldn't see Remus's fading smile from the platform anymore. Sighing, Mira turned around and made her way to the compartment that her trunk had been stowed into, only to be greeted by a chubby, round-faced boy who looked like something was going to jump out of the seat opposite to him and eat him alive. He looked up when Mira entered, and nearly jumped when she sat opposite him. Although the boy looked positively scared, Mira couldn't help but let out a chuckle at how funny he looked.

"Hi," she said a bit hesitantly, hoping not to frighten him again. Her nerves seemed to have calmed down after meeting this boy who looked more nervous than every other 11-year-old on the train.

"H—hi," he answered quietly, with a shy smile.

"I'm Mira Burke, and you are?"

"I—I'm Neville L—Longbottom."

"It's nice to meet you, Neville," she offered him a gentle smile, which appeared to have loosened his nerves as well, and he smiled back broader. Mira felt a tug in her heart for his innocent vulnerability.

"It's…nice to meet you too, Mira."

"What House do you think you'll be in?" Mira asked, but before Neville could answer, she saw the unmistakeable movement on his lap, and suddenly something jumped out of it, only to hop away and outside the door of the compartment, eliciting an agonised squeal from Neville.

Mira's feet immediately went up to her seat as she watched, what looked like a toad, scurry away from the compartment.

"Trevor!" Neville moaned, and before Mira could ask him if Trevor really was a toad, he was out of the compartment chasing Trevor.

Mira couldn't help but go after him, and as she dodged people here and there to go behind Neville, who was chasing Trevor, she passed by a haughty looking girl, who was stood outside a compartment, giving Neville a look of utter bemusement as he snooped around for his toad.

"What is—?" the girl began, but Mira reached her by then, trying to catch her breath, and the girl looked even more alarmed at the sight of her.

"He's…he's lost his toad," said Mira, raising her head to look where Neville had gone. She didn't quite know what had possessed her to go ahead and follow Neville and his toad, but the poor boy had looked too scared and alone to have his toad run off like that, and it was all she could do to help him.

"What's his name?" the haughty-looking girl asked as Mira began to follow after Neville, and the girl followed after Mira.

"The toad? Trevor, I think," Mira answered.

"Not the toad," the girl said. "The boy."

"Oh, his name's Neville."

Mira spotted Neville at a short distance with his robes getting caught up under his feet, only to have him descend to the floor in what appeared to be an example of utter clumsiness.

"Oh, dear," she said, before sprinting up to him and giving him a hand as he tried to stand up, given the moving train.

And before Neville had even straightened himself up properly, the three of them heard a loud, obnoxious cackle coming from the compartment to their left. Mira looked inside to find a pale looking boy with silver hair, and two thickset boys standing on either side of him as they all laughed together. The pale boy was pointing at Neville and clutching his stomach as though he had seen something so spectacularly funny that his sides seemed to be aching. Mira didn't think Neville falling over was funny in the least.

"I've heard it's rude to point and laugh," said Mira boldly, unaware as to where this confidence was oozing from.

The boys stopped laughing, and the pale boy squared up his shoulders as he stepped forward.

"Are you his girlfriend? Look, Crabbe, Longbottom's already found a girlfriend!" he said mirthfully, and Mira thought that his voice was even more annoying than his insufferable face. Her face flamed in anger and she heard Neville let out a squeal as he made to duck and leave, but Mira caught him by the arm and stopped him from going anywhere. If she was fighting for him, he had better not escape.

"If only you had been taught any manners," she said calmly.

The pale boy began to answer, when the other girl cut him off.

"If you two are done arguing, I'd suggest we continue looking for the toad. I reckon it's more important than wasting time with cronies."

Mira nearly laughed at the transformed expression of the three boys, who now looked as though they were going to strangle herself and the girl.

"Come on," the girl nudged them on before anything consequential happened, and the three of them disappeared out of view.

"What is your name?" asked Mira, as Neville called out for Trevor again.

"Hermione Granger," said the girl.

"I'm Mira Burke."

"Would it be alright if I joined you and Neville in your compartment after we're done looking for his toad?" she asked rather timidly, as though afraid Mira would say no.

"Of course it would! Hey, do you think we should split up?"

"Good idea," said Hermione, and Mira watched her turn around and go asking in other compartments while she did the same.

After what seemed like hours, Mira returned to their compartment with Neville, having had no luck with Trevor, and nearly bumping into the pale, silver haired boy again, whom they saw running away from another compartment.

"Do you know them?" Mira asked when they were seated into the confines of their compartment.

"The one in the middle was Draco Malfoy," said Neville, almost afraid that the boy was going to enter and attack him.

"He didn't seem like a very nice boy," said Mira.

"He's not."

Mira wanted to ask more, but they were soon joined by Hermione Granger, who was already dressed in her uniform and robes.

"Aren't you two going to change? We'll be arriving soon," she said.

Mira shuffled away with her uniform, and by the time she returned, they could see Hogsmeade station nearing closer and closer.

"We're here!" Hermione announced happily, and as the train stopped, Mira's nerves went off once again, knowing that it was nearly time to find out what House she was going to be sorted into. She hoped it was the same as either Neville or Hermione's, or preferably both of them if it were possible. What she hoped more than that was to not be in the house as the Malfoy boy, knowing that he was most definitely going to be a Slytherin.

As Mira, Neville and Hermione hopped off the train, Mira heard too many whispers of the same kind to not have inevitably paid attention.

"Did you hear that Harry Potter was on the train with us?" said one of the whispers.

"Harry Potter was the one with the black hair and glasses, right?" said another.

If that description was entirely true, then Mira knew she had most definitely passed by Harry Potter on the Hogwarts Express.


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

 **Cassandra Vance**

 _Summer of 1991_

 _Privet Drive_

Cassandra Vance was staring out the window of her home. It was a bright Sunday morning, but there was something unusual about today. The house opposite to that of hers, number 4, was surrounded entirely by hundreds of owls, as though an owl emporium had been set up outdoors. If Cassandra didn't know any better, she'd say it was highly unnatural an occurrence for these many owls to be perched around outside of Harry Potter's aunt and uncle's home. But she did know what was going on. She knew that Harry was the boy who lived, the son of Lily and James Potter, who had survived the killing curse cast by He Who Must Not Be Named, and who was famous in the wizarding world for it, but who also had no idea how special a boy he really was.

Cassandra, however, had known all of this for a very long time. She had been living across from the Dursleys since she was one, when her parents had been killed in the first wizarding war, and she had been left in the care of Arabella Figg, Cassandra's mother's elder sister. Aunt Arabella was a Squib, though she had read enough witchcraft and wizardry books to explain to Cassandra who she was. Cassandra had begun displaying her magical abilities when she was four, and it was then that her aunt had known that she was to learn some basic things about magic. However, Arabella, being a Squib, could hardly control the random outbursts of magic that came from Cassandra. It was a bit difficult to contain, but with the help of a few wizard friends, Arabella managed to figure out a way to make Cassandra's magic unnoticeable to Muggles.

Had the Durselys any idea that Cassandra was a 'freak' like their nephew Harry, they'd have thrown a serious fit and possibly even left Privet Drive for good. It did not help her case much, since Cassandra was quite easily a talented witch, and it came so naturally to her, that Arabella was often surprised how the niece of a Squib could hone this much magic. It wasn't hard to understand that Cassandra would make a great witch, and would be a bright student at Hogwarts. What Arabella couldn't figure out, was what House Cassandra would be made for. She displayed far too many traits from all four Houses, but since it was the Sorting Hat's job to know where a student belonged, Arabella didn't need to worry about it. Cassandra's parents, Joan and Theodore Vance had both been Ravenclaws, and Cassandra also hoped she'd be in the same House. However, when Cassandra had joined Hogwarts the previous year, she had been sorted into Slytherin, much to Arabella's surprise.

It was hardly any issue for Cassandra though, since she simply adored being part of a great House despite all of the prejudices people had against Slytherin, what with it being the House You Know Who belonged to. Cassandra didn't care knowing that she had enough traits to land herself in said House. She had been a Hatstall, and had hoped to be sorted into Ravenclaw, but the Sorting Hat knew better, and decided to put her in Slytherin instead.

She knew her parents would have been proud of her no matter what House she belonged to. And Arabella didn't have qualms with it either. Although she knew naught about her parents, Cassandra did know that she had inherited her mother's striking blue eyes and her father's jet-black hair. She looked more like her mother, with a slim, pointed nose and a heart-shaped face, coupled with waist-length hair, and medium height. She was particularly good at pranks, and often made it a point to annoy Dudley Dursley every chance she got. Since she knew that Arabella was there to watch over Harry, Cassandra also decided the moment she was grown enough to know what a clown Dudley was, that she would never let the chubby bully forget that he was being punished for having made Harry's life a living hell. If that wasn't enough, Dudley had fancied Cassandra for a year now, which made it even more fun to play anonymous pranks on him.

Cassandra had only spoken to Harry when he was left at Arabella's, but since he wasn't aware about him being a wizard and her being a witch, she kept her distance knowing that her magical outbursts were not to be presented in front of him just yet. She kept busy taking care of all of Arabella's cats, whom she loved to death just as much as her aunt did. However, Cassandra did hope that she could be friends with him when he came to Hogwarts that year, but she didn't know if that was possible if he got sorted anywhere except Slytherin. She had been waiting to see when Harry would get his Hogwarts acceptance letter, and now that she saw all of those owls ready to terrorize the Dursleys with numerous letters, she felt as though Christmas had arrived early, for it was a hilarious sight to behold when Vernon Dursley's shrieks and Dudley's groans echoed around the neighbourhood as letters swarmed in from every possible corner of the house.

Cassandra only wondered how much fun Harry was having inside as the Dursleys struggled amidst the many letters.

"Cassie?" called Arabella, and Cassandra controlled her laughter as her aunt neared the window that she was staring out of. "What is going on?"

"The Dursleys are having the time of their lives, auntie," answered Cassandra, sniggering to herself as she saw the owls flutter about dropping letter after letter at the door.

"Oh, that looks awfully funny," chuckled Arabella, as they heard another shriek of terror from the Durselys.

"I might just go ahead and shove a few letters down Dudley's window tonight, just to scare him out of his wits," suggested Cassandra.

"As much as I'm on board with that, Cassie, I hardly think Vernon would leave any doors or windows open tonight after this."

"Worth a try!"

They laughed again when they saw Vernon Dursley struggling to shut an open window as the letters kept swarming in relentlessly.

"Imagine what it'd be like to have Dudley wake up tomorrow morning to his room stacked with all those letters," said Cassandra, an idea forming inside her head.

"Don't you dare take any such risks, young lady," warned Arabella.

"It's just as well." Cassandra shrugged. "I reckon Mr. Dursley would rather escape Privet Drive than have any more letters shoved up his trousers."

It just so happened that Cassandra's plan of scaring Dudley out of his wits never bore fruit since the Dursley's disappeared along with Harry that very day.

oOo

 _September 1, 1991_

 _King's Cross Station_

"I hope I don't get as many complaints this time, Cassie," said Arabella as she straightened Cassandra's collar.

"Well, didn't you like all of those letter's you were swarmed with last year?" said Cassandra, mocking surprise. "I thought you were just as happy that I made Filch want to tear his hair out after I coloured it yellow."

"That cheek is what gets you into trouble, Cassie. You need to watch it!"

Cassandra rolled her eyes as she dragged her trunk forward. They walked silently towards the train amidst the swarm of people around, and managed to find a car with an available compartment and seat.

"Take care, Cassie," said Arabella. "I'll miss you."

"I'll miss you too, auntie." Cassandra kissed her aunt's cheek before hopping into the compartment and waving goodbye.

She found herself a seat as the train began to move, and was soon greeted by two redheaded twins who were laughing about something as they entered the compartment. They stopped at the door when they noticed Cassandra sitting inside by herself. She smiled.

"I don't think this young lady would mind if we were to join her, do you, Fred?" asked one of the twins.

"If you two set my robes on fire, I would," said Cassandra, and both the boys chuckled before entering the compartment and taking their seats opposite to her.

"You didn't write as much this year, Sandra," said Fred, looking mildly offended.

"I was busy pranking the life out of Dudley to have enough time to write, and I'm sure you two were busy annoying your younger brother Ron," she answered. "Isn't he joining this year as well?"

"He is, and we hope we can terrorize him as well," said George happily. "Oh, I completely forgot! We just met Harry Potter on the train."

"I've met him loads of times." Cassandra smirked.

"You live across from him," said Fred. "Nice chap, though."

"I wish you'd lived across from us, although I hardly think mum would let us hang around with you," said George.

"Because I'm a Slytherin?"

"Mostly because you'd help us prank more," said Fred.

Cassandra didn't really talk about it, but she had been friends with Fred and George Weasley since the past year when she had joined Hogwarts, a year after them. Their friendship was a secret one, mainly because they were both Gryffindors and she was a Slytherin. At first it had been like the normal Gryffindor-Slytherin dynamic between them, but when they found out that she had coloured Filch's hair yellow, they'd become instant friends. Aside from that, she was on a prank-together basis with Peeves, which made it all the more fun to be friends with her, and Fred and George simply adored it. Cassandra was a Slytherin through and through, with her cunning and manipulative nature, but that was only reserved for those who crossed her. Others, she left well in peace. Her pranks were also mostly limited to the people who truly deserved it.

She was too busy having fun with Fred and George most of the times, and the rest, she was surrounded with piles of homework to do. Cassandra didn't have many friends. She only spoke to those who weren't remotely as insufferable, and she didn't find a lot of people very interesting anyway. It wasn't that they were Slytherins and too obsessed with their blood status, but Cassandra just didn't enjoy too much human interaction, and even though there were some genuinely nice people in her House, she preferred to be with herself and enjoyed it as well. Mostly she had more important things to deal with, like finding out if Professor Snape could be bested at his own game. Snape might be the Slytherin House head, but Cassandra found him quite an annoyance, for he was too biased towards Slytherins and Pure-bloods, which led him to taking away undue points from other Houses as he wished.

Cassandra hated it when people were biased. It wasn't how she was raised, and she wouldn't put up with something like that. This was one of the reasons why Fred and George liked being around her, for she didn't call them blood-traitors like most others did. Cassandra didn't usually admit it, but she rather liked the company of Fred than George. George was as much fun as his twin, but Cassandra's friendship with Fred was much stronger, and she usually found him alone when they met, since George would be too busy sneaking in stuff from joke shops as best he could. Fred would accompany George too, but at times when he wanted to hang around Cassandra more, he'd leave his twin to the job.

So far, they had spent a year without anybody finding out that they were friends, and that the twins weren't always by themselves when they executed their plans. Although Cassandra's name was hardly mentioned during those pranks, she didn't mind not being under the limelight. When it came to punishment for the twins for pranks that she had been a part of without anyone's knowledge, she'd manage to do something just as outrageous to land herself in detention, inevitably ending up with her friends to serve their time together. That was how the three of them had strengthened their bond, and Cassandra hoped she'd never lose such good friends, for not only were the twins mischievous and fun to be with, but they were ridiculously amazing as friends, whatever the situation.

"Do you think Harry Potter would be in Gryffindor?" asked George as Cassandra took her fill of chocolate frogs from the trolley.

"I think he'd be fit for it," said Cassandra, munching into one of Bertie Botts Every Flavour Beans.

"He could be in Hufflepuff, you never know," shrugged Fred.

"You'd think, wouldn't you?" Cassandra chuckled. "He's not cut out for Hufflepuff."

"Well, you know him better," said Fred. "Having watched him from your window all your life." He winked.

"If you're insinuating that I fancy him, then you'd be in for a shock, Weasley." She rolled her eyes.

"Do you?"

Cassandra chose not to answer, and gave him a flat look, enough to explain what she would rather not make the effort of putting into words.

"There's a Malfoy joining us this year too," said George. "I reckon he's going to be a pain."

"Malfoy? Oh, he'll be in Slytherin, won't he?" Cassandra said, screwing up her face in disgust. "I'm going to have to deal with him."

"I'm sure you'll deal with him well enough," said Fred.

They spent the rest of the time until they reached Hogsmeade station in coming up with plans for what antics they would pull this year, and by the time they had made it to the carriages and separated, the three of them had already formed up new ideas to take care of Filch. Hogwarts was a welcome sight, and Cassandra was eager to start her new year at school. She was looking forward to know what new concoctions she would get to create this year. Despite her usual dislike of Snape, Cassandra was adept at Potions, and she'd scored quite well in the last year. She was fairly average in other subjects as well, but Potions continued to be her favourite one. She had even managed to cook up some potions in secret that would help in her pranks.

In spite of the fact that Arabella had instructed her not to indulge in any serious practical jokes this year, Cassandra couldn't care less since that was the only way she got to spend time with the twins as much as she could. As she continued to think about what new Potions they'd get to learn this year, it was time for the Sorting to begin. Taking her assigned seat next to Jade Korner, her only friend in Slytherin whom she could tolerate, Cassandra welcomed the newly sorted Slytherins, including Draco Malfoy, who looked more unendurable than Snape's constant sneer.

As Harry Potter got sorted into Gryffindor, much as she had expected, Cassandra's attention wavered towards Professor Quirrell, who looked far too uncomfortable in his seat for it to be natural.


End file.
